the Battle of Shiloh

"Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee River." --General A. S. JohnsonIn late March 1862, Confederate commander Albert Sydney Johnston learned that two Federals armies, under Grant and Buell, were planning to join forces along the Tennessee River. This junction was barely 20 miles from his own encampment. Johnston gathered some 50,000 men to launch a surprise attack against Grant. The plan looked good on paper but was plagued by delays and sloppy execution. But Johnston was not without some good fortune that fateful April--his troops brimmed with enthusiasm and his opponent, Grant, remained blissfully unaware of the attack.